Can Australia pull it off?

When Australia's government decided to implement a world-first national youth social media ban, it was pitched as an antidote to a growing mental health crisis.

As per DW, it followed intense debate about the dangers of social media, much articulated in the book, The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt. The American social psychologist argues that smartphone-based childhoods and social media are helping to fuel an epidemic of mental illness among teenagers.

As the ban was passed in the Australian Parliament in November 2024, one poll revealed overwhelming support among 77 per cent of Australians. The plan to fine TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Instagram and now YouTube, 49.5 million Australian dollars (€27.7 million, $32.3 million) for failing to block young people was supported by 87 per cent of those surveyed. Underage social media users and their parents will not be punished for any violations under the law.

Social media companies, including Elon Musk's X, were predictably unimpressed with a ban that many concede will also be difficult to police.

"It's entirely likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet where no community guidelines, safety tools or protections exist," said a TikTok spokesperson when the bill was passed.

The Australian social media ban partly seeks to protect young people from the cyberbullying, disinformation and illegal content that has riddled social media platforms. But some experts doubt whether prohibition is an antidote to deteriorating youth mental health.

Complex crisis

Marilyn Campbell, a professor in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology who writes on cyberbullying, warns that little research establishes a "causal" connection between social media and psychological health.

"We know that there's a high correlation between the rise of new technologies and the increase in young people's poorer mental health," she said. "But we don't even know why yet."

One 2023 study sampling social media use in 72 countries found "no evidence suggesting that the global penetration of social media is associated with widespread psychological harm."

Campbell noted that though populist psychology works like The Anxious Generation merely draw a correlation between rising youth anxiety and depression and social media use, they have been heavily hyped in the media. Building on the popularity of these ideas, the government is now pursuing a "nice, simple solution," she told DW.

"You don't have to spend any money on it," she said of the ban. "It's not complicated."

Researchers at the University of Queensland note that the limited understanding of how social media impacts young people's mental health means other influences need to be considered, such as rising "social inequity," "climate anxiety" and "gendered violence."

Campbell suggested that instead of focusing on social media, governments need to "reform the mental health system," adding that "many more school counsellors and school psychologists" would help.

"There are lots of things that they could do but that cost money," she added.

Help young people

The Australian government continues to conflate social media use and the psychological struggles of young people.

"We know that social media is doing social harm, and my government and this parliament is prepared to take action to protect young Australians," said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday when announcing that YouTube would be added to the list of banned platforms after initially being excluded.

But social media can also be positive for young people, said Campbell.

Writing for Nature magazine in January, she noted that young people with autism or who are "exploring their sexual and gender identity" can sometimes more easily identify with peers online than in person.

She added that, like the prohibition of alcohol in the US, a ban just forces the problem underground.

Youth also need to be prepared to live in a "technologically-saturated world," the professor told DW. "We are not doing them any favours by saying, well, you can't be in this world until you're 16."

The Australian ban will not come into effect until December. Meanwhile, trials are underway to address the complex task of enforcing the social media blackout.

Platforms won't be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued ID or digital identification but must provide "alternative age assurance methods" to confirm the age of social media account holders.

One recent study showed that some 80 per cent of people surveyed are concerned about the accuracy of age assurance technologies and potential data privacy breaches.

Growing support

Some 77 per cent of German respondents to a 2024 poll also said they would either "fully" or "somewhat" support an Australia-like social media ban.

An even higher percentage, 82 per cent, were "absolutely certain" or "somewhat certain" that social media use is in some way bad for children and teenagers.

Several US states are also limiting access to social media, including ensuring greater parental guidance over social media usage. For decades, the US has required tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of users under the age of 13.

Sweden, too, is looking to ban access to smartphones in schools due to worries about a decline in both mental and physical health.

In 2024, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy suggested warning labels be added to social media platforms, similar to those on cigarettes and alcohol.

This came after a Surgeon General report found some positives with social media use such as "community and connection with others who share identities, abilities and interests," but also "symptoms of depression and anxiety" among adolescents spending three-plus hours a day on social platforms.

Marilyn Campbell reiterated that social media apps should not be banned, but designed to encourage safer interaction with young people.

"I think that children need to be educated to live in the digital world," she said.